


Welcome to Midnight

by kekec_in_rozle



Category: Midnight Texas (TV), Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Demons, Magic, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-30
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2018-12-21 18:09:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11949792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kekec_in_rozle/pseuds/kekec_in_rozle
Summary: Escaping from his pursuers, Stiles managed to hide in the only town in America with more supernatural activity than Beacon Hills.





	1. Prologue

Stiles was driving down the highway, skirting the edge of speeding as he manically checked the rear mirror, searching for his pursuers. He could not believe this was his life. There he was, playing the tourist, minding his own business as a group of thugs cornered him. Correction – a group of omega thugs cornered him, wanting to build some street creed to the expense of the token human in the Hale-McCall pack … but let us start at the beginning.

Summer vacation had just started and he wanted to see something other than Beacon Hills and the shit storm that was its supernatural community. His relationship with Scott and the other member of the pack was still tense – curtesy of the whole Donovan incident, Malia had broken up with him and his dad was still walking on eggshells around him. 

Even if the situation wasn’t perfect, the timing was. He packed his things, said his good-byes and got out of dodge. Originally, he wanted to visit Florida, but then after some calculations, he realized that with the money and the time he had the farthest he could go was Texas. 

But that was okay. He slowed his pace and took some more time for sightseeing, saw things that weren’t in his plan and visited some people he met only on the net. There was a witch in Arizona that helped him with some research, a werecoyote in New Mexico that provided him with information when he first met Malia … everything was fine until he hit the border to Texas … and then things started going to shit.

His jeep broke down, he run out of money to pay for the repairs and had to beg his dad for a loan. When the vehicle was finally fixed and he was ready to roll out of town he was grabbed and dragged into a dark alleyway by two very muscled guys. 

At first, he thought they wanted his wallet, but then the electric blue eyes come out and the gig was up. Using a large amount of his mountain ash stock, he entrapped them in a circle and while listening to their treats and promises, he hightailed it out of there.

So here he was, driving on a highway, looking over his shoulder for possible pursuers, debating on what to do when he saw an exit and without even thinking about it took it. He was still scowling at his hands for acting on their own when he past the ‘Welcome to Midnight, Texas’ sign and felt a cold shiver run down his back.

His spider senses immediately took notice but he was too tired and hungry to really listen to them. He stopped in front of, as far as he could see, the only dinner in town to replenish his energies and then get a good night of sleep before returning home. He was going to stop here for less than a day – what could possibly happen in a day. As it turned out a lot…. It’s like the past years in BH hadn’t thought him anything. In his defense this wasn’t Beacon hills - it was much worse.


	2. Just in town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles meets Bobo and Fiji.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey people! I was finally able to get enough free time to write something. Sorry for the long wait and hope you like it.
> 
> p.s. – the story is placed after the first season of Midnight – so in latter chapter’s spoilers alert for those that didn’t see it.  
> p.p.s - I am kind of a Sterek fan - so even if there won’t be an actual relationship it will be leaning toward that. Fair warning.

Stiles parked the jeep in front of the only diner in the city and banged his head against the steering wheel. When he felt that wasn’t enough, he repeated the action again and one more time for good measure. It seemed that he could take the boy out of Beacon Hills but he couldn’t take Beacon Hills out of the boy. It was like he was cursed – and on that note… he looked at his hands. What the actual hell… It was like he was being pulled here.

There was a knock on the window that almost made him jump out of his skin. “Hey, you okay man?” 

Stiles fearfully turned sideways almost expecting to come face to face with a mocking omega. When he noticed kind blue eyes he relaxed minutely. He rolled down the window and smiled what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Yes, just tired...” Just then his stomach decided to loudly protest. “… And hungry.” said Stiles blushing a little.

“Then it’s a good thing that you are parked in front of the best diner in Midnight,” beamed the man.

“You mean the only one in Midnight,” quipped Stiles, without thinking. “I mean…”

The man laughed. “Don’t worry, it’s true. But that doesn’t take away the fact that the food is heavenly here. C’mon I was just about to take a bite. Join me?”

“Ahh…. Okay?” Stiles exited the jeep and followed the man inside. After all that he has gone through in BH one would think that he would be more cautious, but the man in front of him just seemed so…. 

“I’m Bobo by the way. I work at the local pawnshop.”

The man, Bobo apparently, turned around and gave Stiles an encouraging smile as he was guiding him through the tables.

“Uh… Stiles - high school student. Well former, I just graduated.”

“Then congratulations are in order,” smiled the man and sat in one of the window booths. “So now you are doing the whole road trip thing?”

“Cliché I know. But it is nice to get out a little, see the world.”

“I guess it is a cliché for a reason.”

“You did it too?” asked Stiles curious and anxious to get the conversation topic away from himself. Bobo’s smile fell for a second and Stiles backtracked immediately. “Sorry… so pawnshop. You must receive a ton of interesting cra… uh stuff. Anything memorable?”

The smile returned to the man’s face. “A couple… if you want I can show you around after lunch? Give you the grand tour?”

Stiles was about to reply when a new voice interrupted them. “What can I get you boys?”

“Ah Madonna. I would like some of your special stew and my friend here will take…” 

“A burger and curly fries if you have them. If not the regular ones are fine. Oh and a cup of water, please.”

“Please, huh? Hey Bobo where did you find him?” she petted him; honest to God petted his hair.

“Hey!” he exclaimed affronted, trying to get his hair back to their original disheveled state, while the adults watched him entertained.

“He was loitering in front of the diner, looking pathetic, so I dragged him inside to taste your amazing cooking.”

“Amazing huh? Well in that case I will strive to meet the expectations.”

She turned around and disappeared into the kitchen. 

“She seems nice,” commented Stiles. “Although in the totally scary way.”

“That’s Madonna in a nut shell.”

“Huh… so it’s Madonna like the singer or Madonna like the religion figure?” 

“I think it’s just Madonna, full stop.”

“Got’ ca. Hey, I saw that they are remodeling the hotel. Do you know if they already rent rooms?”

Bobo froze. It was brief and he quickly covered it up, but it was definitely there. Stiles was not a cop’s kid for nothing. “You planning on stopping here?”

“Just for the night. I’m afraid I was a little too optimistic with my time table. Now I am falling behind and to compensate I increased the driving to the expense of my sleeping time. I almost fall asleep behind the wheel today. I know, I know stupid, you don’t have to tell me,” said Stiles raising his arms. He was mostly telling the truth, well apart for the Omegas. 

It seemed to be enough for Bobo through. He relaxed some more and nodded. “And our lovely town was the first one up.”

“Yep! So are they renting?” asked Stiles.

“No I am afraid no,” sighed Bobo, and as he saw the kids face fall, he added quickly, without thinking. “But maybe there is someone that can put you up for the night.”

“Really?” Stiles immediately perked up. He really didn’t know why staying here was so important to him considering that there was definitely something strange going on, but his instinct was telling him he would be safe here. And his instinct was never wrong. Well sometimes… but not on this one – he was sure. Almost.

“Maybe. Hold on …” 

“Here is the food boys. Enjoy.” Said the woman placing two full plates in front of them. Stiles’ eyes budged out while his mouth begun to salivate. 

“Hey, Madonna? Do you think that Creek would be okay to take in the boy for the night?” 

It was as if someone had turned a switch. “What?!” she asked, glaring at the man. 

For his credit Bobo didn’t back down. “Well she has that big empty house and I thought…”

“You didn’t think. If you had, you would have realized that this was a monumentally stupid idea after what happened with Connor. You have a couch, you can take him.” And before any of them could respond she turned around and left.

“Sorry about that. She means well.”

“No dude I know. She is a good friend. I take it that Connor is bad news?”

“The worst. Better not mention him, at all.”

“Okay, got it.”

“And Stiles?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t call me dude!”

Stiles inhaled deeply causing the curly fry to get stuck in his wind pipe. When the choking fit finally passed, he become aware of Bobo patting his back. “You okay?”

“Yes, sorry wrong pipe.” 

“Uhu, and what prompted it to go in the wrong pipe?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing. I… I just knew someone that had the exact same reaction when I called him dude.”

“He not around anymore?”

“Nah, he left. Don’t blame him. Our town holds nothing but bad memories for him. If I was in his shoes I would have left ages ago and never looked back.”

“He your friend?”

“No, not exactly. We helped each other out from time to time… but we never really become friends. It’s complicated.”

“You told him how you feel before he left?”

Stiles almost choked on another fry. “No, just no. Where did you get that idea?”

Bobo just fixed him with a penetrative stare making Stiles blush and look down. “What about you? Do you have someone special?” he asked, only realizing that he validated Bobo hypothesis, when the other man smirked at him. “Shut up!”

“Didn’t say anything. And yes – her name is Fiji and she owns a shop down the street called Inquiring minds. She sells natural remedies and crystals and is the most beautiful woman ……

Stiles having ample experience listening to Scott talk about Allison and then Kira tuned him out and made the appropriate noises when necessary with the occasional head nod. His gaze wandered outside, where something caught his attention. For the life of him, he couldn’t put a finger on what it was. It was just a patch of road outside. There was nothing there – he just couldn’t tear his eyes away from it.

“Stiles…. Stiles!” 

“What?” he asked blinking back to existence.

“Where did you go?” asked Bobo, looking a little worried.

“What?”

“If you didn’t want to listen to me talking about Fiji you could have just said something.”

“What no, that’s not it. I just got lost in my thoughts.” He chanced another look at the street, before looking quickly away. “I have ADHD and I think that I am long overdue for my Adderall fix.” 

As he reached in his pocket for the pills, he secretly hoped that that was it and that the world was not ending in a supernatural apocalypse. At least not while he was in town.

“I was thinking… Madonna was right. I do have a free couch and besides I spent most of my time at Fiji’s.” he shrugged. “You are welcome to my apartment.”

“Du… Man, anyone ever told you that you are suspiciously nice? You just like offered a total stranger – a teenager – your apartment. What if I am a burglar or I don’t know something worse?”

“From time to time people mention it.” he looked a little bashful as he said it. “... but this is a small town and everybody is used to help out. Besides, you can only leave the apartment through the pawnshop and Lem is on the night shift. I seriously doubt that you will be able to sneak out past him.”

“I guess that makes more sense. So what is it going to cost me?” asked Stiles mentally doing the calculations of his stack of cash.

“Tell you what, you pay for the lunch and we will call it even.”

“Okay. I won’t argue with that.”

“Great,” said Bobo, spooning the last piece of stew in his mouth. “I have to return to work. When you are done you can join me at the pawn shop, it’s right across the street. I will give you the grand tour that I promised you.”

“See you in a bit then,” mumbled Stiles with his mouth full, really enjoying the burger and curly fries. Man the curly fries – almost as good as the ones back home. 

Bobo laughed at his clear enjoyment of the food and left the diner. Stiles followed him down the road until the man disappeared in an old building across the street before returning to his meal. He took his time, eating slowly and trying really hard not to look at the road or think about the omegas. Man, what was his life… 

………………………………………………..

As soon as the doors closed behind him, Bobo whipped out his phone and called Fiji. He nervously tapped the counter as he waited for the call to connect, feeling a little guilty, tricking the kid like that. But after the whole Colconnar thing, he felt entitled to be a little suspicious. Especially because of the way Stiles stared at the exact spot where the demon disappeared.

“Inquiring minds, how can I help you?” 

“Hey Fiji, how are you doing?”

“I don’t know, you tell me. I just saw you eating lunch with a young cute twink. Bobo Winthrop, are you stepping out on me?”

Bobo smiled at the phone. Apparently, Fiji was felling playful today. “Well you did say that you didn’t have time to eat with me. You know how I loathe spending meals alone.”

“Oh really now? So it’s all my fault?” 

“Entirely your fault. He was even kind enough to pay for my lunch.”

“Bobo Winthrop you did not just let that poor kid pay for you!” this time the tone was a lot less playful then before and he knew that things were just going to go down from here.

“As a matter of fact I did and as a repayment I offered him the use of my couch for the night.”

Silence greeted him on the other side and he sighed, “Look Fiji, the kid is dead on his feet and running low on money. I just feel for him.”

“And you couldn’t direct him to the town over?” 

“I think the town pulled him here,” he blurted out. The silence on the other side was deafening. “I don’t think that he is even aware of that. When I asked him what he is doing here his response made perfect sense, but lacked conviction. It was like he wasn’t sure of the answer.”

Fiji sighed. “Bobo….”

“I know, I know. Look I don’t believe that he is evil or something but just in case, could you bake a batch of your special cookies and came here in about an hour?”

“Did you really just suggest that I give the boy poisonous cookies?”

“They are not poisonous if he doesn’t have poisonous intentions,” singsonged Bobo. “I have to go, he’s coming. Bye, love you.”

Fiji stared at the mute phone, undecided if she was going to be annoyed or amused before settling on something in between and going to work. She had cookies to make.

……………………………………..

Bobo disconnected the call and turned around just in time to see Stiles entering the shop. “So how was your diner?”

“It was delicious. The curly fries were almost as good as the ones back home.” Said Stiles patting his belly.

“So ready for story time? I got some really interesting items in here. For example in the 1857 a man came in and…..”

The next hour was spent with Bobo showing Stiles some of the more interesting items he possessed accompanying them with stories and from time to time sound effects. If he was honest with himself, he was having the time of his life. He had forgot how fun it could be and Stiles reactions were a gem. He went from interest to wary to disgust and back to interest.

When he concluded the last story, he sent Stiles on his way to explore the shop while he did some bookkeeping. It was one of the bad points of owning a business. He would go so far as characterize it as evil, but someone had to do it. And it couldn’t be Lem all the time. He promised to step up a little in this department and he was keeping his word. If only it wouldn’t be so tedious and boring…

He was just getting into the groove of adding and subtracting when he heard the chime on the door. 

“Hey Fiji, all done?” he gladly closed the accounting book and stepped around the counter to greet her with a kiss. 

“All done. That him?” she whispered into his ear. 

Bobo turned around to find Stiles staring into a small object that he was holding in his hand. His eyes had an empty feeling to them and he was not moving at all, which Bobo knew just by being at the kids side for a few hours, was unusual. 

“Hey Stiles, what did you find?” he asked and looked as the kid shuddered, like he was coming out of a trance.

“Oh, hey…. Do you have a story that goes with this object?” inquired the boy holding out a small necklace with a pendent – the kind that you can put pictures in.

“Let me see…” he made grabby motion with his hand and Stiles reluctantly relinquish his hold on the object. “No, I can’t say I do… you will have to ask Lem about it. He was here before me.”

“Do you think that he will be able to tell me who brought the item and if the same person brought something else in?”

“Depends on when it was bought in but usually Lem has a pretty good memory and is a stickler for keeping records. Why the interest?” 

Stiles eyes were fixed on the object, like he was enthralled by it. “It looks like something that could have belonged to a friend of mine.”

“Ah, that’s strange…. It looks like you can open it through. Have you tried to look if there is something inside?”

Stiles shook his head, his eyes never leaving the object. Bobo tried to open the pendant but it appeared to be stuck.

They were both so concentrated on the necklace that when Fiji, tired of being ignored huffed ‘Bobo!’ they startled. Bobo recovered first, smiling at the woman and hugging her with one arm. “Where are my manners? Stiles, this is Fiji.”

“Fiji, as the most intelligent and beautiful women on earth, on whose smile the sun rises and in whose eyes the stars are born, Fiji?”

“Oh Bobo…”sighed the woman, kissing him passionately.

Bobo blushed profoundly, not really knowing where to look or what to say, before mumbling, “I really didn’t say all that.”

Stiles smiled at the other embarrassment. “Not directly, no. But it was implied. He was talking with hearts in his eyes.”

“I like you. We will go along swimmingly.” Stated Fiji. Stiles just looked at her in confusion. “Errr..” Bobo wasn’t much better.

“I heard that Bobo has offered you a place to stay for free and I have some really heavy boxes that need moving. Seeing as Bobo will be busy with the books for the next hour I am sequestering you for labor.”

“Fiji I don’t think…” started to say Bobo, but Fiji stopped him immediately. 

“Hush you. If the boxes are moved now then we will have more time to ourselves latter. And you…” she said pointing a finger at Stiles. “… I have freshly baked cookies and fresh orange juice. You are not allowed to say no!”

“No, ma’am. I mean yes… I mean… God you remind me of Lydia!”

“Good! And you can tell me all about her – while moving boxes!” 

She grabbed him by the sleeve and started dragging him out of the store. Stiles had only enough time to turn around and yell. “Don’t sell the necklace while I am gone,” before they both disappeared through the door.

Bobo just shook his head as he returned to his books – those two together …. He had a bad feeling about it. And the strangest part? He was more worried about Stiles then Fiji.


	3. Fiji and Stiles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles helps Fiji with the boxes and they talk. Then Olive and her gun show up.

Fiji was humming while she dragged the still bewildered Stiles behind her. She felt it – the moment she entered the shop - she felt a kindred spirit in the boy. It was a soft and slightly ragged energy that reminded her of summer storms and strangely enough of puppies.

She was 99.9% sure that the kid did not have ill intentions, but after what had just happened in town she wanted to be 100% sure. Better safe than sorry, right?

“So Lydia… she your girlfriend?” 

“Ahh… no, ma’am. Although there was a 10 years plan on making her fall madly in love with me, but nowadays we are just really good friends.”

“So, is there someone else that caught your interest?” she inquired.

Stiles sighed already regretting leaving the pawnshop. “What is it with this town’s people and their obsession with my love life? Or is that yours and Bobo thing?” He looked around fearfully. “Am I going to be interrogated every time I met someone?”

“Oh, honey. It’s a small town. Everybody knows everything about everybody. You are new blood. A deep and rich well of new information and juicy gossip. You will be the talk of the town for weeks after you leave.” Fiji told him, her smile just on this side of feral. It reminded Stiles of Erica – post bite. Which made him shiver. The thought of combining Lydia and Erica in one person was scary, scarier than the Voltron twins. 

“You are a terrifying woman,” he murmured, which made her smile only grow.

“Why, thank you. Not many men are strong enough to recognize that.” She beamed while opening o door to a two-story house. “Here we are.” 

Even before Stiles stepped over the threshold, the smell of incense assaulted his senses, which made him pause, but only for a moment. The same feeling that made him trust Bobo before pushed him forward and into the store. 

When he got over the betrayal of his limbs … first his hand and now his legs … he got a good look around. The first thing that popped in his mind was Deaton’s backroom, only with less clutter. The room was spacious and had a homey feeling about it. More than a store, it resembled someone’s living room. 

“What do you think of it?” 

“It’s nice, It’s more like a home, not something that you would expect a store to look like.”

“Good. That’s what I was going for. Come!” she said manhandling him toward a table filled with colorful bottles of any shape and size. “Here, these ones go in this box and those in that other. Wrap them carefully with packing bubbles – you don’t want to smash them, trust me!”

Stiles was about to say something, but she was already dragging him further into the room, toward an old cabinet, this one filled with jars. “When you are done call me – I’ll be in the kitchen making cookies, so they are nice and ready for snack-time.”

And just like that she was gone leaving Stiles standing alone in the shop. He shook his head in bewilderment. Even with the small town hospitality and naïveté, he didn’t believe that this was the standard behavior. He just hoped that he wasn’t being distracted, while that rest of the town was building a large straw man. He wouldn’t put it past his luck. 

Deciding to put that kind of thoughts away, he started to bubble up the first batch of bottles. It was a monotonous work, which left his mind free to wander. Unfortunately, the place that it went to was the two Omegas and their stalking and kidnaping routine.

Now, he wasn’t an expert and not delusional enough to believe that the bits and pieces he managed to stitch together over the years were much more than a drop of water in the sea that is the supernatural. But even with his limited knowledge he knew that his initial theory was full of holes.

Firstly, they knew that he was part of a pack – but he could chuck that up smell. He read somewhere that pack smell lingers on a person years after he had the last contact with his or her pack. So that was a no brainer. 

The thing that didn’t sit well with him was that they didn’t want to hurt him – well not seriously – and that their final goal seemed to be kidnapping. Which begs the question why. He was on the other side of the United States for fuck sakes. If they wanted to use him as a bargaining chip, they would have a much easier job just waiting for him to return to California to grab him.

On the other end, they didn’t know where he was from. Maybe they thought he was part of a local pack. However, he had it on pretty good authority (ie Derek’s) that local packs knew the smell of the neighboring packs. So even as omegas they would know he wasn’t from around here… so why?

He was so lost in his mind, that he missed the chime of the front door and the soft steps that stopped right behind him. What he didn’t miss was the sound of a gun being readied to fire. His years dodging trigger-happy hunters and assassins thought him that.

Stiles whirled around, instinctively going for the gun. He must have surprised the other person because she didn’t shot immediately. But the confusion didn’t last long. They fought for a moment and the next thing Stiles knew he was lying on the floor, face down with a knee between his shoulders. 

“Who are you, what are you doing here and where is Fiji?” she hissed jamming the barrel of the gun against his neck.

“I… I’m Stiles. I was packing boxes and Fiji is in the kitchen.” 

“Do you really want me to believe that…”

“Olivia Charity! What have I told you about your violent tendencies!?” 

“Fiji? You okay?” inquired Olivia, her gaze never leaving the boy on the ground.

“Of course I am okay! What are you doing to poor Stiles?” asked Fiji crossing her arms in front of her.

“Nothing. I saw a stranger in your shop, acting suspiciously…”

“You mean wrapping bottles individually in plastic and carefully placing them in boxes? What, you thought that you stumbled upon the most OCD thief in the world?”

Stiles, for his part, was following the discussion, that in any other circumstance, he would find funny. That is if he wasn’t still lying on the floor, with a knee pushing him down and some type of gun resting on the nape of his head.

“Excuse me…. Can you let me up now since we established that I am not a thief?”

An instantaneous “No!” closely followed by an “Olive… Yes!” and he was free … although with a final push of the pistol as a warning.

Stiles got up slowly, without any sudden movements. He didn’t trust the lady with the gun not to shot him at the slightest provocation. 

“Olive, this is Stiles. He will be spending the night at Bobo’s apartment and as a thank you he is helping me with my boxes.” 

Stiles managed a nod of the head and a weary ‘Hi!’.

“Stiles this is Olivia, a friend of mine. Olivia – do you have something to say to Stiles?” Fiji said encouragingly.

Olivia narrowed her eyes. “I’ll be watching you!”

“Olivia!” sighed Fiji, than she turned to Stiles. “I am sorry about her, she is just really protective. Here, have a cookie.”

Stiles grabbed a delicious smelling morsel while mumbling something about how protectiveness seems to go around in this town. When both girls appeared to lean in as the cookie neared his mouth he stopped and blinked at them.

They both blinked back.

He didn’t want to be suspicious, but they were definitely acting strange. Like poison in his cookies strange. He slowly retreated the sweet smelling pastry and watched Olivia tighten her hold on the gun. “Uhhh…”

“Something wrong, cupcake?” she hissed.

“First, don’t call me cupcake! That name holds so many triggering connotations you can’t even imagine and secondly I feel kind of awkward eating while you watch me,” he said extending the cookie to Olivia. “Here have one too.”

Olivia’s eye twitched as she looked at the offering. “You are being a lousy guest. When someone makes you cookies you eat them.”

“Right after you!” 

“Oh for Gods sake!” exclaimed Fiji and stuffed the cookie in her mouth. “Better now?” she asked Stiles while chewing the pastry. 

Stiles nodded and chose one more toward the end of the plate, sniffed at it, licked it and then slowly took a bite. At the first taste he moaned in enjoyment and then stuffed the entire thing in his mouth before taking another. “These are really good.” He mumbled with his mouth full. 

“Glad you like them,” smiled Fiji before turning to Olivia with a raised eyebrow. The other woman huffed and finally shouldered the weapon, for which Stiles was grateful.

“So Stiles, I see you made quite a progress. You almost finished packing.”

“Really? Are we completely going to ignore the maniac with the gun?” 

“Another cookie?” Fiji offered him, instead of responding. 

He sighed and shook his head, but accepted the treat. “Don’t believe that this is the end of this.”

“Of course not. Would you like some fresh orange juice?”

“No, thank you. Maybe latter. So these boxes?”

“Oh yeah….” She turned toward the other woman. “Olivia you can leave now.”

“Fiji…,” she tried to protest but Fiji was having none of it. “Now Olivia!” 

“Okay, just don’t come crying to me when he turns up to be a serial killer.” 

Stiles almost choked on his last bite because yeah that sounded suspiciously like something he would say. Sans the gun of course. Damn those guns. Maybe he could invest on some… they were very threatening looking and badass. On the other end, he would probably shoot himself before he had to use them so…. 

Olivia turned around to give him one last murdering look while Fiji patted him on the back. Stiles suspected that if he had a grain of survival instinct he would have fled this town the moment the intersection started to weird him out. However, alas he was never known for it. Just ask Scott, or Lydia, or anybody that knew him at all. 

“You’ll have to forgive Olivia. She is very protective.” 

“On top of having violent tendencies?” 

“Yes, you could say that. It’s not a very good combo.”

“Unless you are in trouble often. Then it can came in handy.”

“You sound like you know something about being in trouble.”

“Nope. What about you? You in trouble often?”

“Nope. Shall we go back to work?”

“Let’s.”

The next hour was spent moving boxes and wrapping and unwrapping bottles while discussing alternative medicine and its effectiveness when it came to a stressful life style, high blood pressure and cholesterol. 

Stiles was ecstatic. He has been taking mental notes about herbs and rambling about how they could be incorporated in his father’s diet when his gaze fell on a very familiar black substance in one of the jars. He must have paused in his chatter because Fiji was suddenly there, behind him, following his gaze.

“Found something interesting?”

“Uh… no, no just ….. why do you have ash in a jar? Is it part of a remedy or something?”

Fiji gave him a look, but seemed to let it go for now, as she started to explain: “Actually it’s more for protection. If you smear some on your body or eat a small amount of it, it is said that it can protect you from evil spirits.”

This time Stiles did look surprised. “Really?” He never considered this kind of use for mountain ash, but it makes kind of a sense. If no supernatural creature can cross a mountain ash line, then neither could supernatural incorporeal entities. It would have been a really useful information to have against the Nogitsune. He wondered if Deaton knew. “So if, let’s say for argument sake, an evil Japanese spirit wanted to possess you, then a little bit of dust and you would be uninhabitable to it?”

“How oddly specific,” said Fiji.

“It’s the video games. Japanese mythology is all the rage now.”

“Uh-hu,” murmured Fiji, not believing a word he said. “I guess it would depend on the spirit. Have anything in mind?”

“No, just a bad one I guess?” 

“In that case it would be 50/50. But in the end it would make the spirits job harder, even if it couldn’t stop it completely.” 

“Wow, you are like a fountain of information.”

“Well it’s my job, you know? It pays to be informed. So why don’t you finish packing these last few boxes and I am going to prepare you a nice orange juice and some more cookies?”

“Sounds great.” 

He went back to work, happy that he was almost done and drooling at the thought of more delicious cookies. In hind side he should have been more careful in accepting food from strangers.


End file.
